D G Jubb, Norton, Near Doncaster, South YorksDuring the early part of my service with the RAF, I was posted to
RAF Wick, and then moved up to RAF Skitten which was a few miles north
of Wick. This was in 1942 and I stayed at Skitten for 18 months before
moving on. As you may know, both the RAF camps of Wick and Skitten were
Coastal Command Stations, and during my time there, the amount of
aircraft on active duty were many and varied.

It was during this early period that the RAF
Regiment was formed and my squadron now became 2716 squadron of the RAF
Regiment. Its main function during those early days was protection of
airfields and aircraft, and general guard duties, along with the
formation of anti aircraft units, etc.

The rest of my off duty time would probably be spent
at one of the two cinemas in town. I must add that during this time Wick
was called a "dry town" because beer and spirits were unavailable, so
anyone who wanted a drink had to make their way to Thurso. The year 1942
became a very eventful time for both Wick and Skitten. I can recall on
one particular quiet, moonlit night we all hurried out from our huts to
look across the North Sea where gun fire was heard, the flashes from the
guns lighting up the sky. We found out later that we had been witnessing
a major war battle involving the German Battle Cruiser the "Prince
Eugene" which was sunk in the fiords of Norway.

The other major event related to us happened in late
August of 1942. In the middle of the night we were rushed from camp and
across the moors on hearing that an aircraft carrying a VIP had crashed
somewhere a few miles away. It was the Duke of Kent, and all but one of
his crew perished that night in their Short Sunderland flying boat.
After many hours we found the debris and the bodies, and the body of the
Duke was kept until a special train was sent up from London. His body
was sent down and he was buried at Windsor Castle.

These two articles that I am sending to you are a
piece of burnt parachute, and a bit of molten metal that was part of the
framework from the Sunderland. I collected these from around the
wreckage, so they really are genuine. I have kept them for just over 50
years now, so I would like to think they are going back to the area from
whence they came.

This piece of parachute silk, still showing
the burn marks of the crash, and the piece of molten aluminium from the
Sunderland Flying Boat have been passed onto a local museum.